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I read the book before the series, but I found myself liking the book significantly more! I love fantasy so I just had to read this and it really is as fantasy as you can get. I love long books like this one and got well into it.
Well worth the read! Especially for fantasy lovers.

Storm of Swords has to be the best fantasy book ever.. Ever! It gripped me like never before. So, yes, read the book, especially Book 3 Storm of Swords.

I loved book one and two. I started number three but gave up. Way too many characters, weird names to remember, connections, etc. At some point I was struggling to follow the story line because I was too busy trying to remember who is who and how he/she is related to the others.

I didn't even make it half way through. I wanted to like it, really I did. But I just couldn't.

ya i haven't watched it but i will always think the books are better then the series. love arya and jon.

Umm, it's a bit too intense for me, and a tad bit scarey. I would prefer fantasy to be a little less dark, because I read fantasy to escape the real world when it gets too harsh...

I listened to it. Starts slow because the reader Roy Dotrice, hasn't found his flow til about a third of the way in, but when he does it's really enjoyable. The issue is Roy didn't do all the books. I forget which, the third? maybe, was John Lee, but his performance of the the house of black and white was excellent so I got over it.

The difficult piece is that when Roy comes back in the next book, so many years had passed since his last reading that he forgot who each of his performed voice belonged to and he switched them all up. Very confusing. Think of hearing Jaime's voice but, no, it's actually John. Wait that sound like John, but wasn't that just him talking, no it's actually Tyrion now...makes the fourth book a bit confusing.

That said, it's quite good apart from the feasting. The long lists of dishes is ridiculous and boring. "Say her name!" was directly out of the book. Tyrion's relationship with his dad wasn't quite what it was in the books when played out on TV, and they ruined the punch of a peak scene in their interactions.

Has anyone else read it and enjoyed it?? Nah. The more than 1.8 million 5 star ratings, and 4.45 average on goodreads is just a glitch in the matrix.

I have read them all and have to say I love the series but love the books more. I love the in depth that the book gives that the series cannot.

I saw the show first and then got into the books. My feeling as I read the books was that I enjoyed the show equally as much if not more than the books. That is rare when it comes to books and their adaptations as it normally goes the other way. But it is also rare that for a T.V. show to be as good as Game of Thrones was.

The books are often characterized as Grim Dark Fantasy. If it were coffee I would say they are dark roast on the Grim Dark part, and medium or light roast on the Fantasy part.

The books are told from multiple POV's and some of those characters are really fun to follow (Ned, Arya, Tyrion) and some of them are less fun (Sansa)... This entirely depends on the reader. But waiting 100 or more pages to get back to the storylines you most enjoy can be tiresome.

Overall, the books are good. I prefer heroic fantasy and optimistic story lines. But I guess a little dose (if you can call a 1000+ page book little) of harsh reality is good to have once in a while as well.

The book is very similar to the series. If you enjoyed the series, you will enjoy it again through reading the book.

It is large but satisfying and really well written. Go for it and enjoy!

It's great. Give it a go. If you don't like it after 50 pages then walk away.

I really liked it. It has great characters, interactions between them. Apart from dragons, magic etc, the communication, thoughts, motivation behind each character is very realistic. Even the so called "villains" have their own, kind-of logical motivation. I can highly recommend this book.

I know a lot of people love the series, but I had to give up on it. I made through GoT, Clash of Kings, and about 100 pages into a Storm of Swords. Full disclosure: I'm not an avid fantasy reader. I've read the Lord of the Rings roughly 3 times, but I do love the Earth Sea books and Dune.

For me, I appreciate A Song of Ice and Fire, but it always felt like Martin was being epic for the sake of being epic. I hate to do what everyone else does, compare it to Tolkien, but it is difficult not to. Tolkien grounded his work in a knowledge of language. Martin wants to ground his work in the idea of fantasy. Hopefully, you find them more engaging than I did. One last note: I did enjoy the HBO series. It seemed the show (when it worked with the material from the books) slimmed it down enough to be engaging without losing some level of complexity.

I don't usually like fantasy much, but I found that the moment I picked up this book and started reading it, I could not put it down. I think if you're looking for something with a lot of strong fantasy elements to it, this first book won't give you that. However, the character perspectives and story lines will have something for everyone to enjoy, and that's why I think this series was so successful.

It's epic, it pays for itself. I enjoyed a lot reading this book. All the entire series is a good one.